


Pop Art

by jadelennox



Category: Book Review Journals, Lil' Gum Shoe, Pushing Daisies
Genre: Gen, kidlit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-31
Updated: 2010-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:17:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadelennox/pseuds/jadelennox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><cite>Lil' Gumshoe</cite> in the major review journals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pop Art

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amy/gifts).



> Sorry, Children's Literature, Booklist, and VOYA. I ran out of steam.
> 
> [](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/)  
> This work by jadelennox is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/).

**Lil’ Gumshoe  
Text and illus. by Emerson Cod  
Piemaker Press ($18.99)  
32 pp.**

 **Kirkus Reviews** :

A welcome rarity -- a pop-up book with a black protagonist -- doesn't overcome its artistic limitations. Lil’ Gumshoe is a cheerful, curious detective. Magnifying glass in hand, she wanders through the parks and byways of a modern city in the quest for... what? She investigates leaves, bugs, and discarded cigarette packs through her trusty magnifying glass. As the day wears on, Lil’ Gumshoe's patience never flags. In the closing spread, Lil’ Gumshoe gleefully reaches out both her arms in a tabbed cardboard wave toward the object of her search: her father. Lil’ Gumshoe's overly-adult face (complete with meticulously plucked eyebrows and far too much makeup) distract from the simple, charming tale, and the always-three-dimensional magnifying glass defies the laws of optics. Nonetheless, a necessary addition to any monochromatic pop-up book collection. ( _Pop-up book. 4-6_ )

 **  
Publisher's Weekly   
**

Real-life detective Cod fumbles this 3-D outing, where spinning wheels and see-through magnifying glasses illustrate an outdated "So You Want to Be A..." tale. Lil’ Gumshoe, seeking a missing object not revealed until the final double-page spread, treads the city streets glowing with charming, if unbelievable innocence. In a sunshine-yellow frock and tidy braids, Lil’ Gumshoe is untouched by the darkness of this gritty tale. One spread depicts the heroine sitting on a desk with her cardboard crossed legs unfolding in neat accordion panels toward readers, evoking noir conventions (if unsuccessfully and inappropriately for the audience). The story ends abruptly with no particular character growth. Ages 5-7. (Oct.)

 **  
School Library Journal   
**

PreS-Gr6--This classic bildungsroman gets a welcome new setting with this lavish, intricate pop-up. Lil’ Gumshoe, the adventure's heroine, is determined to find the one thing that is missing from her life. Consistently wielding a three-dimensional magnifying glass on each double-page spread, Lil’ Gumshoe investigates object after object in her quest. Is she seeking a beetle, shimmering beneath the magnifying glass with iridescent green foil? Perhaps there's a clue in this package of Camel cigarettes, with its lovingly magnified Camel and pyramid detailed enough for the most nitpicky of young readers. From the carefully sculpted trash cans behind an urban alley (complete with rats that rush through with the spin of the wheel), to the trellis of Christmas lights magnified in a suburban backyard, Lil’ Gumshoe traverses all the classic stages of a young coming-of-age. What a delight to see this (black) heroine embracing the object of her quest in the climactic, satisfying fold-out. Worth the inevitable damage of having this in a circulating collection. --Hedda Lillihammer, School Library Journal

 **  
KLIATT   
**

An adorable heroine gains control of her life in a pop-up book about surviving life in the inner city. Alone since the loss of her father, like so many in her urban city, Lil’ Gumshoe is determined not to be beaten down by life. Unlike her peers, she refuses to be distracted by all of the _distractions_ that destroy the lives of urban teenagers. Instead, she investigates each of these distractions, which are clearly metaphors for boys, drugs, young motherhood, etc. She's such a smart girl -- this is obviously a detective who wants to grow up and go to college, to detective school! I found her charming, complete with her charming, urban, ethnic hairstyle.  Lil’ Gumshoe is ultimately about hope: about what really matters, about the future, about love, about caring, about overcoming the disadvantages of one's upbringing. Readers, whether or not they share Lil’ Gumshoe's urban demographic, will love her eager passion for her work and see how hard she works so diligently to realize a better life. Also, it's a pop-up book, and I love pop-up books. I thought this book was great! KLIATT Codes: M*-- Exceptional book, recommended for middle school students. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; October 2007.

**Author's Note:**

> Amy: You know what fic I want to see someday?  
> Amy: Reviews, in the styles of a bunch of different kidlitcrit journals, of Emerson Cod's pop-up book  
> Amy: Unfortunately, I could really only request that for yuletide if I add the stipulation of "If you could just assign jadelennox to my request..."  
> Jadelennox: Before I read that last line I was about to say I'LL WRITE THAT


End file.
